As Charlotte travels to Europe to claim her share of her father's legacy, her thoughts turn inevitably to Veronica, her sensual, sadistic stepsister, whom she will be seeing again for the first time in years. Charlotte's fear and hatred of Veronica is tempered by insurmountable lust, and by her taste for submission, bondage and masochism. The sisters' destination is Steinreich, a tiny self governing principality which, for centuries, has been a haven for some very unlikely refugees. Its inhabitants seem happy to live according to its bizarre laws and customs and Veronica, too, seems quite at home there. Charlotte, however, dreads to think of what she will be forced to endure for the next month, in order to qualify for her inheritance.